RWE aims for the rapid expansion of renewable energies. As a complement to onshore and offshore wind energy, photovoltaics and storage systems are essential for the success of the energy transition. This is why, the company plans to accelerate the development of solar and storage projects in Europe, Australia, and America. Innovative solutions is key to achieve this.
We are making an active contribution to the energy transition in Germany. By 2030, we will have invested up to 15 billion euros in our green core business in Germany alone. One of our focus here is on the opencast mining regions of the Rhenish coalfield. In addition to several wind farms under construction or operation, RWE is following suit with solar power.
A photovoltaic system with battery storage is being built in the future shore area of the planned Hambach opencast mining lake. Until the lake has reached its final capacity, there are still many years left to use the site for a large solar plant in the meantime. Other photovoltaic projects are also being built in the opencast lignite mines at Garzweiler and Inden.
At RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, growth in the field of solar energy always goes hand in hand with the development of new technologies and innovations. Our projects benefit from our developers, who promote new technologies across national borders. The potential for growth is enormous. Many of these pilot projects can be tested on a small scale, while the knowledge resulting from the pilots can be applied on a large scale – drawing on our wide-ranging expertise with over 20 years of experience in construction and operation in the field of solar power.
Among others, two technologies are of particular interest to us. Floating PV refers to floating solar systems that enable the expansion of renewable energies without the use of additional land. RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, and Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg are jointly researching and developing this technology, along with other partners. The second technology, Agri PV, describes a concept for the dual use of agricultural land. Technologies and innovations are also of central importance in the continuous fleet optimisation of existing and future solar power plants. Here the usual high standards for quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness apply.
We are happy to answer your questions about our researches and innovations for photovoltaic and our solar projects.